A couple of months ago, I had the privilege of meeting Nichola Cotto, Founder and President of a new nonprofit organization called We Are Not Broken.
Nichola started We Are Not Broken as a way to encourage women and girls to view their scars (from injuries, accidents, abuse, illness, surgery, combat, …) not as something to be ashamed of, but as something that helps tell their story. The concept is simple: provide free photography, spending time with the women and girls, in a safe studio environment, taking professional pictures and video that highlight their scars of survival and their true beauty.
Their website, WeAreNotBroken.org explains more about the mission:
Shame and covering up, isolation, hiding, and feeling depressed. These are words that are often used in relation to scars, especially for women and girls. They have fought the ultimate battle of life and death and come out victorious. Yet all too often they find themselves in a mental and emotional battle because of the devastation left on the their body. Our mission is to change that. We want to encourage and enable women and girls to proudly show their battle scars by redefining beauty. If you have scars from some kind of abuse, cancer, life-saving surgery, combat, car accidents, or any other type of life or death situation, please contact us. These are your hard-earned victory marks and we want to give you a platform to show the world your true beauty. You are courageous, precious, victorious, and made for more! You are BEAUTIFUL.
From the moment I learned about We Are Not Broken and met Nichola, I sensed this is a cause I want to wholeheartedly support in any way I can. Nichola has big plans for We Are Not Broken, envisioning taking this worldwide! In fact, I believe in the mission so much I am now on their Board of Directors!
Any of you who know me, know I believe we ALL should use our gifts to make a positive difference in this world. [I talk about this a bit more in my earlier blog post ‘Reflections of an Old Photography Teacher’ ] This might be the perfect opportunity for you!
Learn more:
- Volunteer: Want to learn more about this amazing new organization and how YOU can get involved? Email:
- If you can’t volunteer to help, you can STILL HELP!
Consider making a DONATION to support this organization!
On August 26th, 2019 we hosted an event and potluck dinner at my studio for attendees to come and hear Nichola’s story about how We Are Not Broken began.
We Are Not Broken had its official “ribbon cutting” ceremony today (July 30, 2019) at the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce:
Check out this news story on KXAN:
